1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to tire manufacturing molds, and more particularly to a tire manufacturing mold having vent passages that do not open through the contour surface of the mold used to form the tire tread. Specifically, the invention relates to a tire manufacturing mold having vent passages with inlets defined under portions of the die ribs that overhang the contour surface so that the vent passage inlets are not disposed in the contour surface of the tire mold.
2. Background Information
Tire manufacturing molds have gas vents leading away from the mold contour surface to remove the gas trapped within the mold during the tire molding process. Tire surface quality is degraded if the gas is not properly vented. Tire rubber can enter these vents to form undesirable flash on the resulting tire tread. The gas vents can also clog with the tire material leading to expensive downtime when the mold must be cleaned.